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Zambia
The Republic of Zambia is an authoritarian capitalist state in Southern Africa, bordering the states of Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, DR Congo and Tanzania. History Human Settlement Humans have lived in territory claimed by the state for at least 200,000 years, as the first human fossils discovered in Africa were found there (in 1921). The first societies, known as the Khoisans, were nomadic foragers who collected fruit and nuts and occasionally hunting antelope. Iron Age In the 400s, the Bantu Migration occurred, who developed self-sufficient villages of wattle-and-daub huts, introducing agriculture, growing sorghum and beans while raising cattle and goats. They also had iron tools and weapons, alongside pottery making. The Khoisan population was destroyed by a genocide or assimilated into the new culture. Trade began to develop in the new society, and copper coins were used as a currency as mining intensified. The society exported ivory and imported cotton textiles, rivers were also dammed to give societies access to water. Four new kingdoms, the Kazembe-Lunda, Bemba, Chewa and Lozi emerged around the Zambezi river as the most powerful states in the region. European Colonialism Representatives of the Portuguese Empire came to the territory via Mozambique in the 1700s, trading between the empire and the new kingdoms of Mwata Kazembe and Barotseland began. In the newly formed Makololo Empire, which refused to trade with Ottomans and Portuguese, it collapse into a civil war over fights between the ruling class over who should rule, destroying the empire. In 1888, during the Scramble for Africa, Cecil Rhodes obtained mining rights from local chiefs. The British South Africa Company took control of the territory later that year and used it as a source of labour. It became a major exporter of copper, producing 13% of the world's copper in 1938, although in 1935 a strike broke out over unsafe working conditions and high taxes. Triggering another strike in 1940 during the high demand for copper in World War II. After the war, railway workers across the country went on strike. Independence In 1964, Zambia was granted independence from the British Empire as part of decolonisation. The ideology of African Socialism was adopted, building an economy based around central planning and nationalisation modeled of Julius Nyerere's policies in Tanzania as well as building relations with China and Yugoslavia. In 1972 Zambia became a dictatorship, banning all political parties and firing dissidents in the government. The policies of import substitution worked until 1975, where the economy contracted by 30% between 1975 and 1990. This was because copper prices fell due to the USSR flooding the market, leading Zambia to take on loans from the IMF and World Bank, leading to the imposition of Structural Adjustments. Zambia also allied itself with anti-colonial movements in Africa, allowing ANC members from South Africa to take shelter in the country, leading to occasional raids by South African special forces. The Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army had a military base in the country, and shot down two civilian airlines with USSR supplied heat-seeking missiles. This led to the closing of Zambia's borders, leading to electricity and food shortages as refugees poured into the country from Angola. Collapse of Dictatorship Massive discontent with the dictatorship and commodity shortages occurred, leading to a strike wave in 1981, protests in the late 1980s and massive food riots in 1990 and an attempted military coup. This resulted in the ban on political parties being lifted and the first elections occurring in 1991, ending one-party rule. The new government, led by a former trade unionist, began a campaign of massive austerity and privatisation leading to falling incomes and economic stagnation. Many more coups have been attempted and the country remains authoritarian to this day, despite this bleak future, copperminers' went on strike in 2007 and 2012. Major Social Struggles * Zambian Copperbelt Strike (1935) * Rhodesian Railway Strike (1945) * Zambian Strike Wave (1981) * Zambian Food Riots (1990) * Zambian Miners' Strike (2007) * Zambian Miners' Strike (2012) * Kanyama Riots (2018) Notable People * Kenneth Kaunda - Former President * Frederick Chiluba - Trade Unionist and Former President * Wilstar Choongo - Librarian and Anarchist References * Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zambia[[Category:Authortarian States]] Category:States Category:Africa Category:Southern Africa Category:Libertarian Socialist Wiki Category:Zambia